Skaters We'll Miss, Part 6 - Carolina Kostner
Italians have a saying that goes something like this: "He that has patience, can have what he will." Carolina Kostner, Italy's greatest figure skater so far, would surely agree. After being the poster girl for two Olympic Games and failing to meet everyone's expectations, each time worse than the other, a weaker athlete would have not risked a third participation. But Carolina knew better; she had a dream and she was determined to make it reality.
Dreaming of climbing the Olympic podium in figure skating felt natural for a child whose family was made half out of athletes, half out of artists. She started skating at the age of three and stepped on senior ice 13 years later. At the age of 14, she hired Michael Huth as her coach and began commuting between her hometown and Oberstdorf to work with him. Her potential shone through from very early on - she became the first Italian to win a medal (bronze) at the Junior World Championships.
She won the senior counterpart of that medal in 2004/2005, when she defeated the famous Michelle Kwan for the third step of the World podium. This was her first major international medal. She had also been crowned Italy's national champion twice by this time. Classical music has always been her favourite and for that season she chose three piano works: Country by George Winston for the short skate, and Piano Concerto No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Prokofiev for the long programme. Although she was still a long way from becoming World champion, she was already being compared to Europe's finest, such as Surya Bonaly.
In 2005/2006 she dropped to the 12th position at the Worlds, but won her first European medal, another bronze. The Italian Olympic Committee recognised greatness in her and showed their support by making her the flag bearer for Italy at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Games. The gesture had even more significance because the Games were held in Turin. Her routines were also created with her country in mind, from the music to the costumes: the short programme featured Ennio Morricone's The Mission and the free skate featured Antonio Vivaldi's Winter, for which she wore a Roberto Cavalli creation. Unfortunately, being the poster girl for such an event put a lot of pressure on her and she barely managed to stay in the Top 10.
She became European champion for the first time in 2006/2007, after missing out on the entire Grand Prix due to an injury. Variations on the Canon in D by George Winston, is a lyrical piece that allowed her to focus on interpretation and body language, which in turn showcased that as good as she was technically, her spirals and spins overshadowed all the jumps. The only thing wrong with her Memoirs of the Geisha long programme was the costume. Despite the bun with the two sticks coming out of it, she didn't look the part at all in a hot magenta dress that was more fit for a showgirl than a geisha. It was very pretty though and cleverly designed so that the bottom looked like the feathers of the bird embellishment.
2007/2008 sent her to her first ever Grand Prix Final (where she won the bronze), brought her back on the World podium with a silver medal and saw her keep her European title. She also earned medals at all the other competitions she took part in except the Italian Nationals, from which she was forced to withdraw. She experimented with her short programme, setting it to The Doors' Riders on the Storm. The result was a more enigmatic routine that didn't quite suit the happy, graceful style of Carolina. For the free skate, she chose Dumky Trio by Antonin Dvorak. Playful and alert, it was a better match. In fact, Carolina liked it so much she would go back to it the following season.
In 2008/2009 her performance level dropped and she lost her European title. She also finished the Worlds on 12th place once more. As a result, she decided to move to California and work with Frank Caroll. Her short routine music was Mujer Sola and Canaro en Paris by Tango Lorca. Her first musical choice for the long programme was Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Black Swan Pax de Deux, but the Russian's music requires a certain aggressiveness that didn't go well with Carolina's sensitive style. She went back to Dumky Trio.
Her relocation to the US did nothing but worsen her issues on ice. In 2009/2010, she lost her national title to Valentina Marchei, missed the Grand Prix Final due to terrible results and placed 16th at the Vancouver Olympics, for which she qualified in the last moment by winning the Europeans. After the Games, she was so distraught with herself that she seriously considered giving up figure skating. Her love for the sport won the battle though. She gave Tchaikovsky another chance by skating to his Violin Concerto, but paired him with the softer Nocturne No. 20 in c-sharp minor by Chopin to balance her short programme. The free skate featured another combination of two great classical composers: J.S. Bach's Air on the G String and Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor. In the summer of 2010, deciding the American Dream was not for her, she returned to Italy and Michael Huth.
She started the 2010/2011 season with a knee injury that prevented her from jumping to full capacity. The affliction kept bothering her throughout the season, but she still managed to win a European Silver and a World Bronze. She also reclaimed her National title. Galicia Flamenco by Gino d'Auri was a sexier song than those she had previously skated on; a clear sign that she was all grown-up and, at 23, in the prime of her career. The sexiness was subtle though, almost like an undercurrent giving the graceful Carolina an edge. The long programme music was called Prelude to L'Apres Midi d'un Faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) and belonged to Claude Debussy. Her choreography captured the mythical feel of the music perfectly and Carolina interpreted it so well that with a bit of imagination, you could have easily pictured her in a magical forest, marveling at the wonders she encountered there.
She became the first Italian single skater to ever win the Grand Prix Final in 2011/2012, but more importantly, she won her one and only World title while also keeping the European one. For Allegreto from Piano Trio No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich, she wore the only truly bad fashion choice she's ever made on ice: a bright yellow costume that astronauts could have, metaphorically of course, seen from space. Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 3 inspired a more fortunate attire: a gray sparkling degrade jumpsuit.
Before the start of the 2012/2013 season, Carolina seriously considered retiring from competition, but as many skaters did at the time, she couldn't bring herself to the dream of climbing an Olympic podium. She therefore decided to carry on until Sochi 2014. She was second in the World Championships, but remained first in the Europeans. Her music choice for the short featured a lullaby by John Morros from Young Frankestein (a 1974 film) paired with Giuseppe Tartini's Devil's Trill. From mimicking the horror of being bitten by a vampire to her effortless spins, she managed to keep her grace while telling a somewhat dark story. The long routine music was set to Maurice Ravel's Bolero, which has probably become her most famous free skate.
Her last competitive season (at least for now) led to a European bronze medal, a World bronze medal and, proving that the Italians know a thing or two about the consequences of patience, an Olympic bronze medal. She mapped out her programmes for 2013/2014 very carefully, initially setting the short routine to Antonin Dvorak's Humoresque, but then changing it to the more divine and expressive, Ave Maria. In a dress that seemed covered in countless ice particles and often looking at the sky, Carolina almost performed a prayer every time she skated it. The free skate featured the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for half a season before being replaced by Ravel's Bolero. It was a lesson of class, dance and how to be sexy and delicate at the same time.
It's been eight years since the Italian Olympic Committee predicted Carolina's successful future and she hasn't disappointed them. The ups and downs of her career have only helped her grow stronger and become more loved not only by her countrymen, but by the rest of the world as well. Presently, she plans to take part in as many ice shows as she can and she is looking forward to putting her artistry out there, rules-free.
Dreaming of climbing the Olympic podium in figure skating felt natural for a child whose family was made half out of athletes, half out of artists. She started skating at the age of three and stepped on senior ice 13 years later. At the age of 14, she hired Michael Huth as her coach and began commuting between her hometown and Oberstdorf to work with him. Her potential shone through from very early on - she became the first Italian to win a medal (bronze) at the Junior World Championships.
 |
| Carolina with Roberto Cavalli in 2006 Photograph: Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images Entertainment |
In 2005/2006 she dropped to the 12th position at the Worlds, but won her first European medal, another bronze. The Italian Olympic Committee recognised greatness in her and showed their support by making her the flag bearer for Italy at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Games. The gesture had even more significance because the Games were held in Turin. Her routines were also created with her country in mind, from the music to the costumes: the short programme featured Ennio Morricone's The Mission and the free skate featured Antonio Vivaldi's Winter, for which she wore a Roberto Cavalli creation. Unfortunately, being the poster girl for such an event put a lot of pressure on her and she barely managed to stay in the Top 10.
 |
| Performing Dumky Trio Photograph: Feng Li/Getty Images Sport |
2007/2008 sent her to her first ever Grand Prix Final (where she won the bronze), brought her back on the World podium with a silver medal and saw her keep her European title. She also earned medals at all the other competitions she took part in except the Italian Nationals, from which she was forced to withdraw. She experimented with her short programme, setting it to The Doors' Riders on the Storm. The result was a more enigmatic routine that didn't quite suit the happy, graceful style of Carolina. For the free skate, she chose Dumky Trio by Antonin Dvorak. Playful and alert, it was a better match. In fact, Carolina liked it so much she would go back to it the following season.
 |
| Her spirals have always been mesmerising Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America |
Her relocation to the US did nothing but worsen her issues on ice. In 2009/2010, she lost her national title to Valentina Marchei, missed the Grand Prix Final due to terrible results and placed 16th at the Vancouver Olympics, for which she qualified in the last moment by winning the Europeans. After the Games, she was so distraught with herself that she seriously considered giving up figure skating. Her love for the sport won the battle though. She gave Tchaikovsky another chance by skating to his Violin Concerto, but paired him with the softer Nocturne No. 20 in c-sharp minor by Chopin to balance her short programme. The free skate featured another combination of two great classical composers: J.S. Bach's Air on the G String and Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor. In the summer of 2010, deciding the American Dream was not for her, she returned to Italy and Michael Huth.
 |
| Carolina's Hair-cutter Spin Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Asia |
She became the first Italian single skater to ever win the Grand Prix Final in 2011/2012, but more importantly, she won her one and only World title while also keeping the European one. For Allegreto from Piano Trio No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich, she wore the only truly bad fashion choice she's ever made on ice: a bright yellow costume that astronauts could have, metaphorically of course, seen from space. Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 3 inspired a more fortunate attire: a gray sparkling degrade jumpsuit.
 |
| Carolina with her Bronze Olympic Medal Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images Europe |
Her last competitive season (at least for now) led to a European bronze medal, a World bronze medal and, proving that the Italians know a thing or two about the consequences of patience, an Olympic bronze medal. She mapped out her programmes for 2013/2014 very carefully, initially setting the short routine to Antonin Dvorak's Humoresque, but then changing it to the more divine and expressive, Ave Maria. In a dress that seemed covered in countless ice particles and often looking at the sky, Carolina almost performed a prayer every time she skated it. The free skate featured the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for half a season before being replaced by Ravel's Bolero. It was a lesson of class, dance and how to be sexy and delicate at the same time.
It's been eight years since the Italian Olympic Committee predicted Carolina's successful future and she hasn't disappointed them. The ups and downs of her career have only helped her grow stronger and become more loved not only by her countrymen, but by the rest of the world as well. Presently, she plans to take part in as many ice shows as she can and she is looking forward to putting her artistry out there, rules-free.
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